Last season the AFC West was a mixed bag that included the team with the best record and top-ranked offense, as well as the team with the NFL's worst record and lowest-scoring offense. There’s a good chance at least one of those claims rings true again between the Chargers, Chiefs, Broncos and Raiders.
The San Diego Chargers were a league-best 14-2 last season but it wasn’t good enough for head coach Marty Schottenheimer to hold on to his job, as the veteran bench boss was gassed after a disappointing playoff loss to the New England Patriots.
NFL Betting Preview: AFC West
New head coach Norv Turner inherits a ton of offensive firepower and some explosive playmakers on defense. LaDainian Tomlinson had one of the best seasons of any running back that has ever stepped onto a football field, rushing for a league-leading 1815 yards with a record-breaking 31 touchdowns in total. What can LT do for an encore? Leading the Chargers deeper in the playoffs would be a good start.
Aside from Tomlinson, the Chargers’ offense is solid with Philip Rivers behind center and Antonio Gates giving San Diego a No. 1 receiving threat out of the tight end slot. San Diego could still use a deep-threat receiver, but even without an obvious candidate they’re an unstoppable offensive force.
On defense, the Chargers have to wonder what Shawn Merriman can do in a full season. Last year Merriman led the league with 17 sacks, despite missing four games due to a suspension. With all of their weapons on both sides of the ball, it’s no surprise that the Chargers are a huge 2/3 favorite to repeat as division champs.
The Kansas City Chiefs enter their second season under head coach Herm Edwards with some questions to answer at quarterback. Trent Green was finally shipped to Miami after Damon Huard was named the new starting quarterback. However, considering the cannon that Brodie Croyle has been showing off in training camp, the job may not be Huard’s after all. No matter who ends up throwing the ball, the one move the QB must perfect is handing the ball off to running back Larry Johnson. Johnson is a tremendous workhorse, who set a new NFL record with 416 carries last season while rushing for 1789 yards and 17 touchdowns. Johnson boasts a great combination of strength and breakaway speed that makes him difficult to tackle and gives him the ability to bust out a big run whenever he touches the ball.
The Chiefs’ receiving corps is still pretty thin behind big tight end Tony Gonzalez and Eddie Kennison. Kennison is supposed to be the Chiefs’ No. 1 target, despite not posting big numbers, while Samie Parker and first-round pick Dwayne Bowe will both be expected to step up this year. Defensively, the Chiefs improved at linebacker by bringing in the always-reliable Donnie Edwards and Napoleon Harris. The secondary is creeping up in age with veterans Ty Law and Patrick Surtain at the corners, and could use an infusion of youth pretty soon. The Chiefs are the oddsmakers’ division dark horse at 6/1.
Another year, another No. 1 running back gone from the Denver Broncos' fold. After leading the Broncos in rushing yards last season, Tatum Bell was traded to Detroit for cornerback Dre Bly. The Broncos found their replacement for Bell in former Tennessee back Travis Henry. Henry rushed for 1211 yards last season and should fit in well under Mike Shanahan’s system.
The Broncos will also start a different quarterback in this year’s opener after Jay Cutler took over the starting job late last season. The former Vanderbilt standout had some good and bad moments in his rookie campaign, and will be expected to bring more consistency and solid overall improvement at the pivot position this season. Cutler will have a solid go-to receiver in the speedy Javon Walker, but his other options could be limited with Rod Smith perhaps a step slower at age 37, Brandon Stokley coming off an injury-plagued season with the Colts, and Brandon Marshall still unproven.
The Broncos’ defense was one of the league’s best early on last season, but down the stretch they were just plain awful and couldn’t hold any kind of lead. Champ Bailey is the best cornerback in the league bar none, and lining up beside Bailey should make the newly-acquired Bly even better. The Broncos should be eager to get back on the field after a tumultuous offseason that included the deaths of Darrent Williams and Damien Nash. The Broncos could give the Chargers a run for the money at 7/5 odds to win the division.
The good news for Raider Nation is the Oakland Raiders can’t get much worse than their awful 2-14 record from last season. Their horrible performance earned them the first crack at LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and Oakland was only too happy to snap up the strong-armed pivot. The Raiders made a few other moves on draft day, including adding veteran QB Josh McCown and parting ways with wideout Randy Moss. McCown or Andrew Walter will likely be the starting QB until Russell is ready to display his rocket arm at the pro level.
With Moss gone that leaves Jerry Porter, Ronald Curry and Alvis Whitted as the key components of the receiving corps. Washout Mike Williams was also added from Detroit, but don’t expect much from him. The running game was also upgraded with the addition of Dominic Rhodes. He should help carry the load with LaMont Jordan, who was a disappointment last season but could bounce back with a strong year. Oakland’s awful offense scored only 12 touchdowns last season and things don’t look much better this season, at least on paper.
On defense, the Raiders surprised many observers after they finished the season No. 3 overall in yards allowed and No. 1 overall versus the pass. The Raiders’ defensive line was very strong behind veterans Derrick Burgess and Warren Sapp, and the secondary is young and could be even better this year. The responsibility to turn things around will fall on new head coach Lane Kiffin. The one-year, return-of-Art-Shell experiment was an unmitigated disaster, but Kiffin should have more time to turn this boat around.
Oddsmakers have listed the Raiders as big underdogs to win the division, at 15/1 odds.
I can't take credit for this writeup Crackerjack. It was done buy Chance Harper. However, Just wait till I start doing my college football previews this year Crackerjack, because I think you'll like it.
Yeah, I missed that "By Chance Harper" right at the top. Still a good post though. Did he do writeups for all the divisions? I look forward to your previews...
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NFL Betting Preview: AFC West
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